Never-Ending Snowfall Sets New Record

Bobcat machines do their best to help Madison residents cope with Old Man Winter

Residents in Madison, Wis., had more than their fair share of snow during the 2007 – 2008 winter. In fact, by mid-February, the city had already surpassed the snowfall record set during the winter of 1978 – 1979 when it snowed 76.1 inches. The city received 101.4 inches of snow by the time winter ended.

The S130 shown here is one of eight Bobcat skid-steer loaders that Maple Leaf Landscape employees operate in Madison, Wis., during the winter for snow removal. The company prefers skid-steer loaders to plow trucks for clearing snow.

To combat the record snow, a local landscaping company relied on its dependable Bobcat® machines and attachments to help residents stay on top of the situation.

Jason Reimer is employed at Maple Leaf Landscape where he manages crews assigned to clear snow from parking lots, walking/jogging paths and sidewalks. His crews counted on eight Bobcat skid-steer loaders, a Toolcat™ 5600 utility work machine and numerous attachments to clear the snow.

"We used 82-inch or 100-inch snow buckets with the loaders to pick up, carry and dump the snow, or relocate it when piles got too big," Reimer says. Crews in the comfortable heated Bobcat cabs also used snow blades, snowblowers and angle brooms to remove the snow.

Speed is critical when it comes to removing snow from parking lots. At one of the company's newly acquired accounts, a Super Target store, Reimer says compact skid-steer loaders complemented larger equipment to plow the snow, specializing in tight areas where other equipment couldn't fit. The company also cleared snow from behind the Kohl Center where the Wisconsin Badgers play basketball.

Loaders outperform trucks

"The one thing that we like about our Bobcat loaders is how much quicker they are than our plow trucks," Reimer says. "With a Bobcat loader, you can plow straight ahead, dump the snow, turn the handles and go the other way. With a pickup, you have to do a wide turn and drive backward in the same amount of time that a Bobcat loader can turn in a split second.

"We can easily pick up the snow with the loader bucket and quickly dump it over the curb," Reimer says. "With a pickup, you head into the curb, lift the plow and back it up. By that time, the Bobcat loader is done and onto its next task."

Companies like Maple Leaf Landscape did as much as they could to minimize the effects of seemingly unending snow with reliable Bobcat machines and attachments that outperformed conventional snow-removal methods.

Click here to read more about snow removal equipment from Bobcat Company.